Local News

Keith Bricken grew up in the fire department.
“I was 5 years old when I was making my first runs with my dad [Randy Bricken, assistant volunteer chief of Taylor County Fire Department.]”

And now, Bricken has earned Campbellsville Fire & Rescue’s Firefighter of the Year award, which is voted on by fellow firefighters. Bricken said he was certain that multiple firefighter of the year winner Howard Dobson Jr. would receive the honor again this time. So, he was understandably shocked to hear his own name called.

A fitness routine. Mock interviews. Singing the song. Again.
Kimberly O’Brien, the first Distinguished Young Woman of Taylor County, will leave Sunday for the state DYW competition. And she says she has been preparing for several months now.

O’Brien took home the DYW title in August after competing against 18 other high school seniors. The DYW program is the former Taylor County Junior Miss program.

Emergency weather alerts could soon be more accurate.
With the city’s contract with One Call Now set to expire in just two weeks, Ronnie Dooley, assistant E-911 coordinator and Taylor County Emergency Management public information coordinator, has suggested the city switch to a new service — CodeRED.

Dooley and CodeRED representative Kurt Steier attended Tuesday night’s Campbellsville City Council meeting to discuss the service.
The city contracted with One Call Now four years ago at a cost of $25,000, Dooley said.

Almost everybody celebrates the arrival of a new year, but for Jamarcus VanCleave and Antoinette Smith of Campbellsville, there was another arrival on Jan. 1 that was especially meaningful as 2012 began.

The couple welcomed a son, who was the first baby born at Taylor Regional Hospital. Kaiyden Edward Jace VanCleave was born at 9:56 p.m. Sunday. He was 19.25 inches long and weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces.

Hilda Legg, who says she never imagined herself, after growing up in Knifley, overseeing millions of dollars and 300 employees, told a group of graduates from the Somerset Center they could do the same.

Legg spoke at a celebration for Somerset Center graduates who will receive their diplomas recently at the main campus. The celebration was in the Harold Rogers Student Commons on the Somerset Community College campus.

On Nov. 27, Campbellsville Fire & Rescue, with help from Breeding Fire Department in Adair County, erected mile marker signs along Green River.
The Taylor County Fiscal Court approved placing the signs every mile on Green River.
The decision was made after two different water rescues where made during the summer.
A swift water rescue occurred on Memorial Day weekend when two people were rescued after their canoe capsized in the river during the heavy rains of last May. A drowning occurred on July 4 weekend.

A Richmond man has been arrested and charged with failure to comply with the terms of his sex offender registration.
Campbellsville Police Officer Roy Rodgers arrested Darrell W. Jones aka Darrell Stephens, 44, of 230 S. Porter Drive #4, on Thursday, Dec. 22, at 8:10 p.m.
According to Jones’s arrest citation, he allegedly entered the state of Kentucky, knowing he is a lifetime sex offender registrant, and failed to notify his supervising authority in Ohio.

Campbellsville Police is investigating a series of phone scams.
According to a new release, several local residents have received phone calls from people claiming to be family members who have been arrested.
The callers have requested residents wire them bond money.
The Campbellsville Police Department advises anyone who receives such a call to check with their family members and their whereabouts before wiring any money.
Those who suspect they are being scammed can call Campbellsville Police Department at 465-4122.